Nostalgia: The metal of Daventry’s past

This photo may look a little odd, and that is because it is not a photo.

Found in our archives, this is a metal printing plate dating back to the 1960s. It shows Sheaf Street in Daventry, back when it was open to traffic.

The metal plate itself was etched for use in the printing press, and was sized to fit exactly in the space left for it on the printed page.

Using a normal film negative, a second film was exposed using a special grid filter to create the halftone image – the dots of varying sizes that when printed using black ink gives an impression of tonal black and white photo.

This image composed of tiny dots was then etched onto a metal plate to be used in the printing process.

The archives contain no information attached to this image as to why it was taken, but at around this time the shops along Sheaf Street were being eyed up for potential regeneration or demolition.